Well, the truth seems to lie somewhere in between.  After reading this article you’ll understand that why that’s the case.

Not All Dairy Products are Created Equal

There are many health benefits that can be gained from consuming dairy, but it’s contingent on the source… or more simply put… how the cow was raised.

It’s important to keep in mind that most dairy products at local grocery stores are low-quality products, made from cows that were raised in a very unhealthy environment.

If you plan to consume dairy, your best bet is to choose dairy products from grass-fed, pasture raised cows. The nutritional value in milk from grass-fed, pasture raised cows is remarkably different from milk that comes from a factory-farmed cow.  It’s unfortunate but, factory farm cows are often unhealthy and likely to have received antibiotics, hormones and other medications due to the unsanitary conditions that they’re raised in.  So if you’re consuming low quality milk you can assume that you’re also consuming whatever these sickly cows received.

Do Humans Need to Eat Dairy?

One of the main argument against dairy consumption is that it’s not natural for adult humans to consume milk from another animal.  Originally, humans only drank mother’s milk as a baby, and that milk was designed to support the health of a rapidly growing baby.  But the need for dairy stops after childhood.

The body wasn’t designed to consume milk on an on-going long term basis, which is why a large percentage of the world population is lactose intolerant.  If a person is intolerant of lactose, it means that their body has a hard time digesting the sugar in milk and it can cause digestive problems.  Babies have a natural enzyme called lactase that digests milk, but that enzyme goes away as the child grows into adulthood.

In fact, it’s estimated that 75% of the population on the earth is lactose intolerant.  So, why do we continue consuming dairy if our bodies can’t properly digest it?  Mainly because of the health benefits of dairy.  The benefits outweigh the negatives for many… especially if the level of intolerance to dairy is fairly mild.  In such cases different forms of diary can also make a difference in your ability to digest diary.  For example many people that can’t drink milk can handle fermented dairy such as yogurt and kefir.  Another example is clarified butter (ghee).  Ghee has no lactose or casein so most people have no issues digesting it and it’s a great for cooking since it’s very stable at high temperatures, unlike other cooking oils that go rancid at high temperatures.  Ghee is a great source of healthy saturated fats.

How to Buy High Quality Dairy Products

If you are at the neighborhood grocery store that doesn’t carry high quality organic dairy products it’s best to skip the dairy aisle and purchase your diary products from a health food store that carries dairy products made from organic grass-fed, pasture-raised cows.  Look for dairy products that are labeled with these phrases: full-fat, grass-fed, pastured-raised and organic.

Full-fat, organic, pastured-raised, grass-fed dairy is a healthy source of vitamins and minerals that might be hard to obtain in other types of food.  These nutrients are very bioavailable, helping to support the overall health of your body.  All that being said, some people simply can’t tolerate dairy even if it comes from organic grass-fed, pasture-raised cows.

In such cases, you may want to try goat’s milk as a substitute.  Goat’s milk is the closest thing to human breast milk and hence many people that can’t tolerate cow’s milk can easily consume goat’s milk without any digestive issues.

Another viable alternative is whey protein powder.  Although whey comes from cow’s milk, whey protein is about 90 - 98% lactose free depending on the type of whey protein.

Whey protein comes in 3 different forms:  whey concentrate, whey isolate and whey hydrolysate.

1. Whey concentrate is the cheapest and least processed whey protein.  However, it also has the highest lactose content which may be problematic if you’re very lactose sensitive.  But since it’s the least processed so it also has more nutrient content.

2. Whey protein isolate is more expensive than whey concentrate and is whey about 95% lactose free.  Whey protein isolate has the second highest absorption rate of the protein.

3. Lastly, there’s hydrolysate whey protein which the most the expensive and the most highly processed.  This form of whey protein is 99% lactose free and it has the highest absorption rate out of all whey proteins.

So depending in your level of lactose intolerance you can choose the whey protein that’s right for you.  Most people use whey concentrate as their go to source of whey, since it’s already 90% lactose free and it also has other nutrient content that’s very beneficial to your health.  However, if you’re looking for less lactose content and slightly better protein absorption you may want to pick either whey isolate or hydrolysate whey.

Which ever whey protein you pick, just make sure that you consume it before and/or after an intense muscle building & fat burning workout, so that you can provide your muscles with all of the protein and amino acids needed for optimal muscle repair and recovery.